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Restaurants can get a shot at a business makeover as part of Bernalillo County’s Taste of New Mexico event, which takes place October 8 and 9.

Anyone can nominate and vote for their favorite local restaurant online. The deadline is July 31, although that may be extended.

A team will do the makeover and will also work with the nominated restaurants to provide advice and assistance in marketing and branding.

The winning restaurant must be a local business owner who has great food and a passion for what they do. They must also show community involvement and help need help promoting their restaurant.

Local businesses that want to donate labor or materials to these effort should contact Rick Metz at rick.metz@upublic.tv. For more information, call Jesse Lopez in Bernalillo County Economic Development at (505) 468-7818.

The makeover will be based on what a restaurant needs. That could mean renovations or consulting or marketing and social networking.

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The former Jean LaFitte Hotel in Galveston has been acquired for redevelopment into a mixed-income apartment complex.

Itex Partners, the real estate investment arm of Port Arthur-based Itex Group LLC, has acquired the historic building at 2101 Church St. that has stood vacant for a long time in downtown Galveston.

State and federal disaster recovery funds will be used to renovate the 1927 building, with half of the units earmarked for low and moderate income housing no teletrack payday loans.

Cathay Bank sold the property to Itex for an undisclosed amount.

Derek Hargrove and Christopher Dray of Moody Rambin Investment Services represented the seller.

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The former downtown-area Wonder Bread plant being developed into an artists’ haven is getting $597,000 in historic preservation funding from the state.

Gov. Ted Strickland’s office on Friday announced $28.3 million in Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit awards to 13 projects, one of which is the Wonder Bread building. The latest announcement is the fourth and final preservation award under the state’s $1.57 billion job creation stimulus package, which set aside $120 million for such credits.

The plant, which Wonder Bread owner Interstate Bakeries Corp. shut down last year after to deciding to shift operations out of state, is under development as a mix of arts-oriented retail, exhibition, office and rehearsal space. Arts entrepreneur Adam Brouillette formed Wonderland Columbus to serve as the master tenant that will go about filling the 64,600-square-foot building.

The state said the project in applying for the tax credit pledged to preserve the industrial heritage of the building along with the Wonder Bread sign that has become a visual landmark in Italian Village. The tax credits fund up to a quarter of qualified rehabilitation spending.

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Luby’s Inc. has agreed to buy substantially all the assets of bankrupt Fuddruckers Inc. for $61 million in cash.

Houston-based Luby’s (NYSE: LUB) will also assume Fuddruckers’ obligations, real estate leases and contract and will pay an additional $2.45 million in cash if it does not assume certain specified contracts. Luby’s will also buy Fuddruckers’ Magic Brands LLC.

Austin-based Fuddruckers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on April 21. Luby’s participated in an auction and won the right to buy substantially all of Fuddruckers’ assets on June 17. The sale to Luby’s remains subject to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The Bankruptcy Court has scheduled a final hearing on the sale of assets on June 22. If approved by the court, the transaction should close on or about July 9.

Luby’s has 96 restaurants that serve home-style food. Luby’s has 10 restaurants in San Antonio.

Fuddruckers currently operates 60 Fuddruckers restaurants and three Koo-Koo-Roo locations. Franchisees currently operate another 138 Fuddruckers locations, which are not included in the purchase. Fuddruckers has four corporate owned restaurants in San Antonio.

Both restaurant concepts were founded in San Antonio but their corporate headquarters have long since moved elsewhere in Texas. Luby's was founded in San Antonio in 1947. Fuddruckers was founded in San Antonio in 1980.

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NewPage Corp.’s top two executives have resigned, along with a third executive.

The Miami Township-based paper manufacturer announced Tuesday that President and Chief Executive Officer E. Thomas Curley and Chairman Mark Suwyn have left NewPage. Michael Edicola, vice president human resources, also resigned.

Robert Nardelli, CEO of Cerberus Operating and Advisory Co., an affiliate of the controlling stockholder of NewPage, will fill the role of non-executive chairman of NewPage and its affiliates, according to a statement.

NewPage’s board has formed an executive search committee to find a new CEO. The committee will consider both internal and external candidates for the position. The company will broadcast an investor and analyst conference to discuss the leadership changes Tuesday at 11 a.m.

In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, NewPage said it will give Curley $1 low fee payday loans.1 million in severance pay - equal to twice his base pay, as part of his contract - as well as a $165,000 prorated performance bonus.

Suwyn will receive a $2 million severance payout. Edicola will get $650,000 for severance and a $243,000 prorated performance bonus.

The resignations were effective June 11.

The company reported its profit dropped 62 percent in the first quarter of 2010, despite an increase in sales. The company had planned an IPO, but withdrew that in May.

NewPage is the largest coated paper manufacturer in North America. It owns paper mills in Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Nova Scotia, Canada with annual capacity to produce 4.4 million tons of paper. The company has about 7,500 employees, including 400 in the Dayton area.

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Institutional Venture Partners is reportedly raising $600 million to invest in information technology companies.

Dow Jones VentureWire reported that a consultant's due diligence report on the Menlo Park firm revealed it is seeking the money for its 13th fund.

The report said that the fund will be invested throughout the United States, with a focus on Silicon Valley. It will be able to contribute up to 30 percent to investments in public companies.

The report said that IVP's last three funds have generated a 1.6-times investment multiple as of Dec. 31.

These included investments in ArcSight Inc., which went public in 2008 and MySQL AB, which was sold for $1 billion to Sun Microsystems Inc. in 2008. It also has invested in Twitter Inc. and Zynga Game Network Inc.

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Arts and crafts retailer Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. has increased the minimum wage for full-time hourly employees to $11 per hour. The employees affected previously made $10 per hour.

The change in pay will effect 9,600 Hobby Lobby employees nationwide.

The company also raised its part-time hourly wage to $8 per hour.

There are 22 Hobby Lobby stores in North Texas.

The minimum wage increase also will benefit the company’s affiliated businesses – Hemispheres and Crafts Etc cheap pay day loans.

The Oklahoma City-based company said its minimum wage is now 52 percent above the national minimum of $7.25 per hour.

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Gymboree Corp. announced today that it is raising its earnings guidance for the first quarter ending May 1.

The San Francisco specialty retailer of children's clothes said it now expects first quarter earnings per diluted share between $0.93 and $0.96, up from its earlier estimates of $0.90 and $0.94 per share.

Gymboree said the increase is due to better than expected margin rates as a result of inventory management and fewer markdowns.

The company reiterated its same store sale estimates of increases in the mid-single digits.

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Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas is stepping down to run for Arizona attorney general.

Thomas spokesman Jason Rose said the Republican prosecutor's last day in office will be April 6.

Thomas is a close ally of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, backing Arpaio's immigration raids and crime sweeps. The two also have battled with the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and U.S. Circuit Court judges over immigration issues, county budgets and the construction of new court tower in downtown Phoenix.

Thomas' entry sets up a GOP primary race for attorney general against Tom Horne, the state's superintendent of public instruction.

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Australian manufacturing expanded at the fastest pace in more than two years, adding to evidence of economic rebound that may prompt the central bank to boost borrowing costs tomorrow for the fourth time in five meetings.

The performance of manufacturing index rose to 53.8 points in February from 51.0 in January, according to an Australian Industry Group and PricewaterhouseCoopers survey released in Canberra today.

A reading above 50 signals manufacturing is expanding and gives central bank Governor Glenn Stevens more scope to increase the benchmark lending rate tomorrow by a quarter percentage point to 4 percent, as forecast by 14 of 19 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. Australia’s economy probably grew the most in 1 1/2 years in the fourth quarter, a separate analysts’ survey ahead of a report on March 3 shows.

“While there is a lot of ground lost over the past two years still to be recovered, overall, conditions do appear to be improving,” AIG Group Chief Executive Officer Heather Ridout said payday loans. “The combination of rising new orders and production augers well for the industry in coming months.”

The manufacturing survey, which is similar to the U.S. ISM index, asked more than 200 companies about production, new orders, deliveries, inventories and employment.

A gauge of production rose 4.2 points to 55.7, the sixth increase in seven months, today’s report shows. Growth was strongest among manufacturers of textiles and paper, as well as publishing companies. An index of orders was little changed at 56 in February.

Today’s survey also shows that companies related to consumer spending have weakened.

“The impact of the strong Australian dollar and higher interest rates are posing formidable headwinds to growth while high interest rates are also dampening demand,” Ridout said.

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